, Columnist
Buttigieg Isn’t in a Position to Be Much Help
The transportation secretary has no role in the immediate response to the train derailment in Ohio or in the cleanup efforts.
Too little too late?
Photographer: Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg
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Note to politicians with presidential aspirations: Joining the cabinet makes the path that much harder. Just ask Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Cabinet secretaries are just one of more than a dozen top bureaucrats in the executive branch. They’re tied to the popularity or unpopularity of the administration. Their lot is to labor in obscurity unless and until something bad happens — and then to take criticism and absorb blame.